SDSU at No. 22 Michigan

When: 9 a.m. PDT Saturday

Records: SDSU 3-0, Michigan 3-0

Where: Michigan Stadium

On the air: The Big Ten Network; 600-AM

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Insider trading

Former Aztec coaches who will coach against the Aztecs Saturday for Michigan:

Hoke's view

With six former Aztec coaches on its football staff this year, Michigan will have a “huge advantage” in its game Saturday against San Diego State.

At least that’s how Rocky Long sees it.

“They know our personnel a lot better than we know their personnel, so I think there’s a huge advantage, yes,” said Long, SDSU’s head coach.

It starts with Michigan head coach Brady Hoke, who knows the SDSU program inside and out after two years as SDSU’s head coach in 2009 and 2010. The same goes for Michigan’s offensive coordinator, special teams coordinator, offensive line coach, linebackers coach and wide receivers coach.

All came to San Diego with Hoke after the 2008 season. All left San Diego with Hoke when he took the Michigan job in January. The Aztecs are off to their first 3-0 start since 1981. They play at No. 22 Michigan (3-0) Saturday in a 9 a.m. game at Michigan Stadium.

“Your knowledge you have of each other already, you use that,” Long said.

Those six Michigan coaches signed two classes of recruits at San Diego State and coached many of the current Aztec players through good times and bad, including two sets of spring drills, two fall camps and two full seasons. They know these players’ strengths and weaknesses. They also know how Long operates.

So don’t expect them not to make full use of that information, Long said. He laughed when asked if there was any ethical boundary in using such insider intelligence.

But Hoke himself suggested there was in 2009 when Hoke’s SDSU team prepared to face New Mexico, the team Long coached from 1998 to 2008.

Long said he told his players, “Brady did a good job as head coach here, and he’s going to do a good job as head coach there, but coaches don’t play. Players play.”

He said he hasn’t encountered anybody at SDSU with a grudge against Hoke for leaving SDSU. He also said he doesn’t expect it to be a motivational factor for his team.

“I think our team is excited about playing at Michigan against a really good Michigan team in front of a lot of people, “ Long said. “I think they’re excited about that. I don’t think who the coach is has any factor whatsoever.”

Long said he talked to the SDSU seniors about the Michigan issue in August.

“That’s when all you guys (media) wanted to talk about it and forgot we had three games before we played them,” Long said.

Injuries: Long said his team didn’t sustain any injuries Saturday that would keep players out of practice Tuesday. Senior safety Brandon Davis will have to wear a neck brace for another week after suffering a bruise there in the Sept. 10 win against Army.

SDSU offense: The passing game still shows occasional glitches, including dropped passes. But Long is not alarmed. Neither is SDSU quarterback Ryan Lindley, who completed 21 of 37 passes for 273 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.

“(It's) just little disciplinary things, how I'm reading things, where I'm putting the ball,” Lindley said. “That's going to take games, and I think you're going to see us start to make strides. We're already a lot better than we were. I'm excited about the way we're improving.”